Hypernatraemia in an adult in-patient population.

We report a retrospective study of hypernatraemia (serum sodium concentration greater than 150 mmol/l) in an adult in-patient population of a health district during one year. The incidence was 0.3% with at least 60% of cases developing after hospital admission, mainly in elderly patients. Dehydration appeared to be the major cause, with the use of diuretics, depressed conscious level or febrile illness implicated in a majority. Most patients had more than one contributory factor and iatrogenic causes were common. Associated illnesses were often severe and the in-hospital mortality was high (54%) regardless of age. Hypernatraemia in hospitalized patients should be largely avoidable and there is a need for greater awareness of the importance of active maintenance of hydration in susceptible patients

Treatment of alcoholic liver disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) remains a major cause of liver-related mortality in the US and worldwide. The correct diagnosis of ALD can usually be made on a clinical basis in conjunction with blood tests, and a liver biopsy is not usually required. Abstinence is the hallmark of therapy for ALD, and nutritional therapy is the first line of therapeutic intervention. The role of steroids in patients with moderate to severe alcoholic hepatitis is gaining increasing acceptance, with the caveat that patients be evaluated for the effectiveness of therapy at 1 week. Pentoxifylline appears to be especially effective in ALD patients with renal dysfunction/hepatorenal syndrome. Biologics such as specific anti-TNFs have been disappointing and should probably not be used outside of the clinical trial setting. Transplantation is effective in patients with end-stage ALD who have stopped drinking (usually for ≥6 months), and both long-term graft and patient survival are excellent

HEALTH CARE RATIONING AND COST CONTAINMENT ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS

Much public discussion about health care assumes, explicitly or implicitly, that only by denial of potentially beneficial care (called "rationing") can cost containment be achieved. This piece critically examines the various current usages of "rationing," and argues that it is being misapplied. Fur- ther, the call for rationing may be deflecting us from fruitful exploration of non-rationing alternatives to cost control. Two of these are briefly sketched as examples: physician fee controls and practice guidelines. Copyright 1989 by The Policy Studies Organization.